The Old Brass Spittoon is coming home to Indiana. The Hoosiers scored one of the upsets of the season, beating Michigan State, 24-21, in an overtime thriller at Memorial Stadium. The Hoosiers battled back from a seven-point second-half deficit to nab just their second win in 26 tries over a ranked foe.
For Indiana to record another major shock and cover the huge 29-point spread against Ohio State, it needs to get another huge performance from Richard Lagow. He accounted for three touchdowns in the win against Michigan State. Lagow had a quarterback rating of 73.3 in that game. He will need to be at his best, though, against an Ohio State defense that has conceded just two passing touchdowns this campaign.
Apart from Lagow, much is expected as well from wide receivers Ricky Jones and Nick Westbrook. They have already combined for 720 receiving yards and five touchdowns over Indiana’s first four games. Jones, in particular, was superb in the win against the Spartans, catching five passes for 124 yards and a touchdown.
Indiana is 4-6 SU and 5-5 ATS in its last 10 road games.
The Ohio State Buckeyes will head to their Big Ten showdown with Indiana with momentum on their side after thrashing the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 58-0, on Saturday. It was another impressive victory for the Buckeyes, who improved their season-record to 4-0. They have won their first four games by an average of 47.8 points.
Key to Ohio State’s tremendous start has been their incredible offense. The Buckeyes are averaging a whopping 57 points per game this season, third-best in the entire FBS. Just like in their opening three wins, it was J.T. Barrett who took center stage for Ohio State in this game. He passed for 238 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 46 yards for the Buckeyes. It was a historic outing for Barrett who now holds the Ohio State record for career touchdown passes (59 TDs in 27 games).
For the Buckeyes to preserve their unbeaten record against Indiana, they will need to quickly establish their running game this coming Saturday. Ohio State rushed for a whopping 410 yards in the win against Rutgers. Mike Weber spearheaded the Buckeyes’ ground attack, finishing with 144 yards and a score on 14 carries. The Buckeyes are third in the FBS in rushing offense, averaging 332.0 yards per game. They will be licking their chops at the prospect of facing an Indiana defensive line that’s allowing 139.5 yards per game on the ground this season, 51st in the FBS.
Ohio State is 9-1 SU and 5-5 ATS in its last 10 home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Ohio State (-29) preserves their unbeaten record with a resounding 45-14 victory.
